


now that i found you: a queer eye x brooklyn 99 crossover

by jakepuhralta



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Queer Eye for the Straight Guy RPF
Genre: Crossover, Gen, LGBT, LGBTQ
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-16 16:02:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18694753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakepuhralta/pseuds/jakepuhralta
Summary: Captain Holt, upon watching Netflix's Queer Eye for the first time, decides to nominate his detective Jake Peralta, figuring it'll be good publicity for the NYPD.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by an idea by [a-sleepy-human](https://a-sleepy-human.tumblr.com/post/176218897869/a-concept-jake-introducing-captain-holt-to-queer) from Tumblr.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Holt discovers Queer Eye.

"Raymond! Come sit down!" Raymond Holt's younger sister, Debbie, a recent divorcee and mother to his nephew Marcus, patted the empty seat next to her on the leather couch.

Raymond inwardly sighed. While he had worked out his issues with his sister's clinginess and tendency to be over-dramatic and had overall tried to include her more in his life, having her around still took some getting used to. They have since both decided she would visit for a few weeks every year, just to work on their sibling relationship as adults, as well as to keep Debbie company now that her husband had left her. That particular visit had worked out for both of them since Raymond's husband Kevin Cozner, a classics professor at Columbia University, was away on a work-related trip, so he figured he could use the company too.

"Debbie, I really have to look over some case files before I go to bed-"

"Nonsense!" Debbie exclaimed. "You've been working all day at that precinct and now you're gonna do _more_ work? Please, come watch with me."

"What are we watching?" Raymond asked reluctantly, glancing at the television screen in front of them. He didn't even know why he had one, since neither he nor Kevin were patrons of popular media. They did watch the occasional documentary on Animal Planet or the History Channel, so it wasn't completely worthless.

"I logged in to my Netflix account. It's one of my favourites. It's a reality show where five gay guys makeover someone. Oh Raymond, it's so good!"

"Gay, you say?" Raymond asked. He did not care for popular media at all, much less reality makeover shows, but hearing Debbie say the cast of the show were gay, had piqued his interest. He sat down as his sister clicked on an episode.

Debbie nodded enthusiastically. "I love the Fab Five so much. Two of them, Bobby and Tan, are married to their own husbands, and Karamo is engaged. Antoni is in a relationship with his boyfriend, and I heard Jonathan broke up with his boyfriend just before New Year's Eve. The poor thing."

"Wait... how do you know so much about these people's personal lives?"

"It's called social media, Raymond. Keep up with the times. I follow all of them on Instagram and Twitter. They're pretty open about their personal lives on there."

They both turned to the TV. On screen, the Fab Five met with a young man named Sean Van Meter, a musician who lived with his godmother and was about to go to college.

Raymond never tore his eyes away from the screen for the entire episode, not even when Debbie laughed out loud or made commentary throughout the episode. He was transfixed.

The episode was over. Sean had a haircut, was given better clothes, his college apartment renovated, his cooking skills improved, his social skills worked on. The credits rolled.

"Ooh! It says here, the Fab Five are coming to New York for a special episode!" Debbie exclaimed. Raymond turned to look at her. She was already scrolling through her phone.

"What did you say?"

"They're asking for nominees now! It's some sort of special episode to commemorate where the original Queer Eye started. That's so sweet!"

"What do you mean, they are asking for nominees?" Raymond asked.

"The people they make over on the show, called 'heroes', have to be nominated by a friend or a loved one to get on the show. They get nominated because their family thinks they need self-care, learn self-improvement, that kind of thing. The episode we just watched was filmed in Atlanta, so they asked for nominees around the area. Now they're asking for nominees around New York. How exciting!"

"Debbie."

"Hm?" Debbie looked up from her phone.

"Send me that link. I think there is something I have to do."

Raymond then locked himself in his home office. He opened up the link from Debbie and after reading the instructions, started making a case for why Detective Jake Peralta of the 99th Precinct in Brooklyn would be a great nominee. An added bonus was that it would be great publicity for the NYPD as well.

The next day, at work, he got a call from one of the executive producers. And they got to talking.

 

\----

 

"Ugh, I hate it when Scully does that," Detective Jake Peralta said to his wife, Sergeant Amy Santiago.

Amy turned around. Their co-worker, Detective Norm Scully, was trying to fish out a piece of pepperoni that had fallen inside his shoe. He then popped it into his mouth.

"Why do Scully and Hitchcock insist on taking their shoes off while eating?" Amy asked.

Before Jake could say his theory, Captain Holt came out of his office.

"Attention, squad! In a few days, this precinct will be welcoming a camera crew from the Netflix show called Queer Eye."

"Wait, what? They're going to film an episode of Queer Eye here, in this precinct?" Detective Charles Boyle, Jake's best friend, asked, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"I figured this would be a good opportunity to gain some positive publicity for the NYPD, so I have decided to ask them to come down and film an episode here."

The precinct burst into excited murmurs.

"Also, I have decided to nominate our very own Detective Jake Peralta, to be made over by the Fab Five," Captain Holt added.

The precinct grew silent.

Jake stared at Captain Holt for a few seconds.

Finally, he said, "Say what now?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake processes Captain Holt's announcement.

"Yes, I have contacted the producers of this show and nominated you to get made over, or as they say in the show, 'make better'," Captain Holt said to the still-dumbfounded Jake Peralta. "They will contact me again to let me know the exact date as to which they will start filming in our precinct. I want you all to be on your best behavior and show the world that the 99th precinct is the best law enforcement New York has to offer. Dismissed."

The police officers all went back to their work, but not without chatting about the Captain's announcement. Jake got up, and before the Captain could even close his office door, he barged in.

"Captain, what were you thinking nominating me for this thing?" he asked.

"Is there a problem, Peralta?"

"Yes, there is a problem! You didn't even ask me if I wanted to do this. You just sprung this on me. How could you?"

"Funny, I was always under the impression you wanted to be on a television show."

"Well... yes, but only if I get to act and play a badass character, like Eleven from Stranger Things or... Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl!"

Captain Holt stared at him, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Look, my point is, I've seen this show. I _like_ Queer Eye. I admire all the things they do for the men and women that they help. But I don't need them, okay? I don't need their help. I'm uncomfortable being on this sort of reality show on a platform as big as Netflix. Please call them back and tell them you'll nominate a different person. What about Charles? Or even Hitchcock and Scully? Two heroes! God knows they need this more than I do," Jake said, the desperation showing in his voice.

"No," Captain Holt said simply.

"What do you mean, no?"

"This is non-negotiable, Peralta. I do apologize for not letting you know before I made the announcement, but being on this show is a direct assignment from me. I do hope you cooperate. Dismissed." Captain Holt put on his glasses and began typing away at his computer screen.

Jake left his office in a huff and walked back to his desk.

"What did he say?" Amy asked, rubbing Jake's back.

"He says I have to do it, that it's a 'direct assignment'. What is this? School?"

"Didn't they get a lot of heat for doing a cop in season one?" Detective Rosa Diaz asked, speaking for the first time since Captain Holt's announcement.

"Wait, you watch Queer Eye?" Amy asked.

"...Maybe. Whatever, I like it. That show helped me get through coming out to my parents."

Amy smiled. "I think they got heat because he was a _Trump-supporting_ cop. But most of us here aren't like that, especially not Jake. Right, babe? You'll be fine."

"I follow some of the past heroes on Instagram," Charles said, showing them his phone screen. "They hang out sometimes and they all seem much happier and like they're doing well."

"But I _am_ happy and doing well!" Jake exclaimed. "I don't know why Captain Holt thinks it's necessary for _me_ to be nominated. It's like he thinks I'm not a good enough cop or husband." He turned to Amy. "I mean, I'm a good husband, right? I cook, I clean, I shave."

"Well..."

Amy thought about how Jake tried to roast a chicken in the oven. They were both _terrible_ cooks, which made Amy feel sorry for their future children, but when Jake roasted that chicken, the smoke alarm went off and they retrieved what seemed to be a huge lump of coal from the oven. They had to order pizza instead.

Jake stared at her. Amy panicked. "Mhm," she nodded.

Jake's eyes grew wide. "Oh my God, you don't think I'm a good husband!"

"No, babe, it's not that. You're a good husband in that you love me and support me in everything I do. It's just... around the house, you know, you could be a little better. Also your shirts are all the same, you're a _worse_ cook than me, and sometimes I see flakes of dry skin on the bed and on your clothes. Maybe being on Queer Eye isn't such a bad idea."

"She's right, Jake," Sergeant Terry Jeffords piped up. "I _love_ the Queer Eye guys. Of course, Terry's already an amazing husband, but they taught me that there's always room for improvement."

Jake rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Not that the Captain gave me much of a choice anyway, but I'll do it."

Amy clapped in delight. "Yay! This is gonna be so much fun! We could even re-watch some Queer Eye episodes when we get home." She hugged Jake then turned to leave to go back to her floor.

Rosa squeezed Jake's shoulders. "You'll be fine, Jake. You've always wanted to be on TV, right?"

"I guess," he muttered.

"Don't worry, Jake! I know all your best angles--it's your right side. No, your left! Actually, it doesn't matter. All your angles are the best," Charles added.

Jake smiled weakly. "Thanks, buddy."

He sat back down at his desk. "God, what did Captain Holt get me into?" he muttered to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fab Five arrive at the Nine-Nine.

"Alright, squad. The Queer Eye film crew will be arriving at the Nine-Nine shortly. I am glad to see that you have all cleaned up your desks and ironed your uniforms like I told you, which I appreciate. While there _will_ be a film crew here, they will try their best not to be disruptive of police matters. This is not an excuse to goof off or be negligent of your duties. I trust that you will all be professional and on your best behavior today-"

"Oh, damn!" The Nine-Nine turned to see Detective Michael Hitchcock spill an entire bowl of spaghetti bolognese on himself. It was 9:30 in the morning. He put the now-empty bowl on his desk and proceeded to scoop the sauce from his shirt with his bare hands, then ate it from his palms.

"Uhh, Hitchcock, Scully. I have wonderful news for you. You are both going on a paid one-week vacation, starting right now," Captain Holt said.

"Sweet," Hitchcock said. He and Scully stood up to leave, but not without almost slipping on the sauce-covered floor. Captain Holt gestured for a police officer to call the clean-up crew.

"Off to a great start, everyone! And the cameras aren't even here yet!" Jake said sarcastically to no one in particular.

 

\-----

"What do you think he's saying to the cameras back there?" Amy asked, trying to make small talk. She and Jake were staring at Captain Holt in his office, talking towards the camera that the Queer Eye film crew brought in. He was being filmed for their B-roll, presumably talking about the 99th precinct and why he decided to nominate Jake.

"What does it matter?" Jake grumbled. "I still don't know why he chose to nominate _me_ of all people. We work at a police station, for crying out loud! This whole place reeks of toxic masculinity and suddenly _I'm_ the epitome of the kind of person the Fab Five should be fixing?"

"Why are you so upset about this, Jake?" Amy asked earnestly.

Jake knew he had to be honest. Amy was his wife and he knew he couldn't bullshit her. "It's just... have I _not_ improved enough for him? How long has he known me for? Six years. Six years of him being my captain. And he still thinks I'm not good enough. He still thinks I'm someone who needs fixing."

"This is why you were mad when he first said he nominated you?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, Jake, I'm sure it's nothing like that--"

"Detective Peralta?" They were interrupted by one of the production assistants for Queer Eye, whom they didn't notice had approached Jake's desk. "We're finished with Captain Holt. We're ready for you."

Earlier that day, the film crew had interviewed Jake's co-workers. He was asked to leave the floor because the producers didn't want him knowing what they said about him. Charles kept reassuring him, however, that he only had amazing things to say about his best friend in the world, whereas nobody knew what Rosa said. Terry talked about how Jake was like a younger brother to him. Amy talked about how she and Jake fell for each other, the friendly rivalry they had throughout the years, how he supported her taking the sergeant's exam, and their makeshift wedding.

Captain Holt talked last.

"Good luck, babe. I gotta get back to work." Amy kissed Jake on the cheek.

Jake followed the camera crew to the break room and told them all about himself.

 

\------

Jake rubbed the sleep from his eyes the next morning and glanced at the clock on his bedside table.

He was already five minutes late for work.

He flung the comforter from his bed in a panic as he grabbed his jeans from the night before (which haven't been washed in a month) and pulled them on, not having the time to peruse his closet and pick cleaner jeans. He was about to internally blame Amy for not waking him up but remembered that she had told him the night before that she had an early meeting and would have to be at the precinct an hour early. She must have not woken him to let him sleep in a little.

And look where it got him.

He had trouble sleeping the night before. He couldn't stop thinking about how the Fab Five from Queer Eye were actually coming to the 99th precinct. _His_ precinct. And they were going to make _him_ over.

Oh God. Tan France presided over the fashion aspect of the show. He was going to have to come over to his and Amy's apartment and look at his closet.

_Why why why did Captain Holt think this was a good idea?!_

Jake hurriedly put on the rest of his clothes--a wrinkly plaid shirt that he had planned on ironing that morning, his leather jacket--then ran into the bathroom to gargle some mouthwash, not even bothering to brush his teeth. 

He grabbed his wallet and car keys. He was already cranky because of two things: 1) he overslept and was now late for work, and 2) he had to face the Fab Five, but now he was cranky because of a third thing. He didn't have the time to make his morning coffee.

 _This day is going to be great,_ he thought sarcastically. He grabbed his sunglasses to cover how groggy-looking he was.

He had parked the car and was now walking towards the Nine-Nine's main entrance. Suddenly, a guy accidentally jostled into him. Jake frowned in annoyance but didn't bother looking up.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," the guy said.

"It's fine," Jake said.

Both he and the guy entered the building and walked towards the elevator. They both got inside. Usually, Jake made small talk with whoever was in the elevator with him and Amy--uniforms, victims of crime about to file a report, technicians from the forensics lab--but that morning, he only stared at the floor, wishing the elevator would go faster.

"I'm super late for this thing and I wanna kick myself. I _know_ I get lost easily and have no sense of direction, but I still insisted on having breakfast in this newly-opened cafe in Williamsburg," the guy told Jake casually. 

"Bully for you," Jake replied, not looking at the guy.

Finally, the elevator arrived at Jake's floor. He and the guy stepped out of the elevator at the same time.

Captain Holt immediately greeted them. "Jake, you're late," he said sternly. He gestured to the guy from the elevator. "But I see you have met Antoni Porowski, the food and wine expert."

"Wait, what?" Jake muttered, more to himself. He took off his aviators to look at the guy who was with him in the elevator. He almost choked.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late," Antoni said, apologetic. "I promised I would have breakfast with this friend before our shoot today and I really thought I would make it in time." He turned to Jake. "So you're Jake! Nice to meet you!" He put out his hand for him to shake. Jake looked at Antoni, noticing he had croissant crumbs on his The Strokes t-shirt.

"Yeah, you too," Jake mumbled.

"Ahh, there he is!" Just then, a group of guys approached them, followed by several camera people. "Are you Jake Peralta?"

"Yes, I am."

"You will have to excuse him for his tardiness. Under my tutelage, he is usually more punctual than this," Captain Holt interjected.

"I'm Tan France!" Tan opened his arms for a hug which Jake reluctantly gave him. Karamo, Bobby, and Jonathan followed suit, introducing themselves and hugging him.

"Of course you were late too, you goose!" Tan told Antoni, cupping his chin affectionately. 

"But I'm here now, Tanny Banny!" Antoni replied.

Jake felt fingers combing through his hair and he almost jumped out of his skin. "I love the texture of your hair, Jakey!" Jonathan Van Ness, the grooming expert, told him. 

"Uhh, thanks," Jake muttered, willing Jonathan to stop touching him. 

He had only been awake for about half an hour, and already he was feeling overwhelmed. He was surrounded by five gay guys--six, if you included Captain Holt--who were all talking over each other. He glanced at Rosa, sitting with one leg up on her desk, staring at them and grinning to herself. Jake mouthed "Help me!" at her. Rosa only shrugged as if to say, "You're on your own, man. What can you do?"

Finally, the Fab Five quieted down somewhat. "Okay, let's all go to the break room so we're out of the way," Bobby Berk, the interior designer, said. Jake calmed down a little. He was able to focus more when they weren't all talking at the same time.

They all sat on the couch and Jake took a deep breath, something Amy told him to do when he was feeling anxious or overwhelmed. How is it that he was a detective who have solved multiple murders and other serious crimes throughout his career, but his entire body was sweating at that moment?

They all grew quiet, noticing the solemnity on Jake's face. 

"Jake." He looked up and saw Karamo Brown, the culture expert on the show, staring at him kindly. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you ready to do this?" Karamo asked.

Just then, Jake noticed Amy peeking through the break room windows, smiling at him. Her meeting must have finished early and she came upstairs to check on him. She flashed him a thumbs up.

He smiled to himself. 

"Yeah. I'm ready."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake has a conversation with the Fab Five.

Karamo smiled kindly at Jake. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to overwhelm you back there-"

"No, no, it's okay," Jake immediately said, sitting up and clearing his throat. "I'm a detective. I've handled worse."

The Fab Five chuckled.

Karamo was still looking at him earnestly. He noticed Jake's body language and tense facial expression. He touched Jake's arm lightly. "How are you feeling right now, Jake? Be honest with us."

Jake sighed. "Look. I love you guys. I love the show and everything you do to help the heroes. But if I'm being honest, I'm still confused as to why I got nominated. You didn't happen to talk to Captain Holt before coming here, did you?"

"Confused how?" Karamo asked. "And only briefly."

"You know what? It should've been the other way around!" Jake realized.

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked.

"I should've nominated him! But I didn't even know you guys were looking for heroes in New York. He needs _a lot_ of work. He doesn't show emotion, he's not up-to-date with mainstream culture, he's-"

"We got to talk to him a little on FaceTime before filming started. And I'm not so sure that he needs our help in the same capacity that our heroes need our help, Jake," Tan said. "He was wearing the most immaculate outfit when we talked to him. I don't know how he normally dresses out of uniform the rest of the time, but the man can _dress._ "

"And I saw the inside of their house too. The design was _stunning._ Whoever did their house can definitely teach me a few lessons," Bobby added.

"He... he told us he designed most of their house..." Jake muttered, admitting in defeat.

"There you have it!"

"And listen, a gay police captain being a hero on one of our episodes would've made HEADLINES, henny! Can you imagine the publicity we would get from that episode? But Captain Holt was adamant that it was _you_ we make better, not him. He made a pretty good pitch and we, along with our producers, were sold. And what message would a straight police detective nominating his gay captain-" at that, Jake looked up, and he shifted uncomfortably, "-to be made better by other gay people send? Trust me, our online critics would have a FIELD DAY with that one!" Jonathan added, rolling his eyes.

"Jake. Do you still want to do this? If you're truly uncomfortable doing this, we can't force you to be on the show. I mean, Netflix would probably yell at us and threaten not to renew our show, but we'd understand," Antoni said kindly, squeezing Jake's arm.

Jake remembered being on the show was a direct assignment from Captain Holt. Never mind that the NYPD would make an enemy out of Netflix and the Queer Eye producers for wasting their time and money, but disobeying Captain Holt's orders would definitely jeopardize his career.

Why did he keep having second thoughts about this? He had already said yes in front of his co-workers. Why would he back down?

Why was he so afraid?

He remembered seeing Amy just a couple of minutes before, giving him an encouraging thumbs-up through the window. "No, no. I do want to do this. But yeah, I'm just still confused why he nominated _me_ of all people."

"What do you mean?" Karamo asked.

"I'm just frustrated because I have co-workers whom I think need this more than I do. You haven't met them because Captain Holt immediately put them on vacation before filming started, but Detectives Hitchcock and Scully? They're a MESS. They could benefit from ALL of your categories. Plus-"

"Jake. There's no point in doing that now. You're the one who's nominated, not them. Let's just move forward," Karamo said gently. 

There were a few seconds of silence. "Did Captain Holt tell you _anything_ about why he nominated me? Anything at all?"

"He asked us not to talk to you about it. I think he wants to tell you in his own time," Bobby replied.

Jake sighed once more. "Okay." He tried to smile.

"Okay? We're doing this?" Karamo asked, grinning.

"Yeah. I guess we are."

"Alright!" With that, they all cheered and gave each other high-fives.

Once they settled down, Jonathan asked, "So tell us more about yourself, henny. We heard you're now married to one of your co-workers? Tell us about her. Tell us about your friends here."

"Oh, yeah, her name is Amy Santiago." Jake smiled, remembering their impromptu wedding just outside the precinct. Even though most of the day was a disaster, what with a bomb being planted in the building where they were supposed to get married and Amy's ex and the most boring man in America, Teddy, being head of the bomb squad, it was still the best day of his life. The day he proposed to Amy was a close second.

"It seems like you really love her."

"I do. Before I realized I was in love with her, we had sort of a friendly rivalry going on. But I didn't realize at the time that one of the reasons why I was in love with her was because... she _drove_ me to be better. A better cop, a better employee, a better person overall. She's always been passionate about her job so getting promoted to Sergeant was a big step-up for her. She hopes to be Captain one day."

"So in her own way, she... Female Eyed you." Antoni cracked up at his own joke. Jonathan slapped his arm teasingly.

Jake chuckled. "Yeah, I guess she did." He cleared his throat. "My best friend is Charles Boyle. For some reason he is _obsessed_ with my and Amy's relationship. He can be a bit much, but he's the most loyal and caring person I know. Rosa Diaz is another good friend of mine. We met at the police academy. She is one of the best cops I know, but she is _terrifying._ She came out as bisexual last year and I've never been more proud of her. Sergeant Terry Jeffords is like everyone's big brother. He looks out for all of us and he's one of my biggest role models."

"Wow. It sounds like you're in pretty good company here, Jake," Bobby commented.

"Yeah. I am, actually, now that I think about it. I'm really grateful to be at the Nine-Nine."

"So how did everyone take it when Captain Holt became your new captain? He told us a little about that. How did you and everyone take it?" Karamo asked.

"Well, he was definitely a departure from our old captain, who just let us do whatever we want. Captain Holt was strict but fair, and I didn't realize it at the time. I thought he was just a wet blanket. My friend Gina Linetti, who used to be an administrator here-"

"OH MY GOD, do you mean THE Gina Linetti?! The YouTube star?!" Jonathan yelled.

"Oh my God, I love her! We love her, don't we, Jonny?" Antoni said, high-fiving Jonathan.

"Yeah, _that_ Gina Linetti." Jake tried not to roll his eyes. He was proud of Gina, but it was still annoying when people asked him about her, as if he didn't quite literally give her a job at the Nine-Nine. "She even asked us if we felt a 'little bit of a gay vibe' around Captain Holt. I didn't know he was gay until during our first stake-out with him, which was pretty foolish of me. There were clues _everywhere_ that he was gay, but I was so oblivious to them back then."

"How was it like having a gay captain?" Bobby asked.

"You know, and this is gonna sound weird, but I think having a gay, _black_ captain was beneficial for us. He really influenced us how to be less judgmental, how to take people's life experiences into account, and all that. The NYPD has a pretty bad rap, which is understandable, but I'm glad that he brought in more progressive ways of doing things. Because let me tell you, our past captains were all racist and homophobic."

"Oh, trust me, honey, we're going to get into that this week, don't you worry," Jonathan said. While the Fab Five were all politically active in their own ways, what with them being five famous gay guys in the global eye, Jonathan was famous for being the most loud and opinionated when it came to politics and social issues.

Jake chuckled politely. "Okay, I'm down for that."

Karamo reached over to squeeze Jake's shoulder. "Jake, thank you for trusting us. I really hope we have more conversations like this during the week."

They all stood up. "But now, we gotta start with your wardrobe, Jakey boy. While these fellas think of ways to make better you, we're going on a little field trip back to your apartment. Does that sound good?" Tan asked.

"And while Tan helps you with clothes, I'm going to start drawing up plans to renovate this break room because it is... for lack of a better word, _subpar._ You guys deserve better than this," Bobby added.

As the Fab Five once again erupted in conversation, talking over each other, Jake felt overwhelmed again, but it felt different. He looked at his palms, which were damp with sweat.

He was still nervous. He was still anxious. But he realized that a new feeling had coursed through him.

He realized that he was also excited.


End file.
